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NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Texas A&M knocks off pesky UND

Mar 23, 2014; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies guard Courtney Walker (33) dribbles the ball around North Dakota forward Mia Loyd (2) during the first half of a women's college basketball game in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Reed Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports2 / 10

Mar 23, 2014; College Station, TX, USA; North Dakota forward Madi Buck (13) shoots the ball over Texas A&M Aggies forward Courtney Williams (1) during the first half of a women's college basketball game in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Reed Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports3 / 10

Mar 23, 2014; College Station, TX, USA; North Dakota head coach Travis Brewster yells from the sidelines against the Texas A&M Aggies during the first half of a women's college basketball game in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Reed Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports4 / 10

Mar 23, 2014; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies guard Tori Scott (15) shoots the ball over North Dakota forward Madi Buck (13) during the first half of a women's college basketball game in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Reed Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports5 / 10

Mar 23, 2014; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies forward Achiri Ade (L) prepares to shoot the ball as North Dakota forward Madi Buck (13) defends during the first half of a women's college basketball game in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Reed Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports6 / 10

Mar 23, 2014; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies guard Tori Scott (15) shoots the ball as North Dakota guard Kelsey Knox (L) defends during the first half of a women's college basketball game in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Reed Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports7 / 10

Mar 23, 2014; College Station, TX, USA; North Dakota forward Madi Buck (13) hugs head coach Travis Brewster reacts against the Texas A&M Aggies during the second half of a women's college basketball game in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Reed Arena. The Aggies won 70-55. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports8 / 10

Mar 23, 2014; College Station, TX, USA; North Dakota forward Madi Buck (13) hugs head coach Travis Brewster reacts against the Texas A&M Aggies during the second half of a women's college basketball game in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Reed Arena. The Aggies won 70-55. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports9 / 10

Mar 23, 2014; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies guard Courtney Walker (33) shoots the ball as North Dakota forward Katie Houdek (32) defends during the second half of a women's college basketball game in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Reed Arena. The Aggies won 70-55. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports10 / 10

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Yes, UND players were glad to be here, competing in the NCAA Division I women’s basketball tournament for the first time in the program’s history.

Truth be told, Texas A&M was probably glad to see UND leave Reed Arena on Sunday night, where the Aggies – as expected – downed North Dakota 70-55 in the first round of the tournament.

UND’s initial game on the national stage was impressive. As a No. 14 seed, UND wasn’t expected to push A&M, a No. 3 seed.

But UND trailed only 30-26 at halftime, a surprise to most of the 6,075 fans on hand. And UND didn’t fold after the Aggies gained control.

In the end, however, it was A&M’s superior height, athleticism and quickness that helped the Aggies to a blistering second-half start. A&M outscored UND 16-2 in the first four-plus minutes of the second half, a spurt that decided the game and advanced the Aggies to Tuesday night’s second-round game against James Madison.

“What you saw here today was a basketball team that came out of transition from Division II to Division I that plays with a lot of heart,” said UND coach Travis Brewster. “There was about a four-minute span to start the second half where A&M made their run at us. They got into transition. We tried to match that, but that’s not our game.

“We’re not the type of people that relish any type of moral victory, either. We had every intent of going out and trying to have some success. Today, we just ran into a team that’s better than us.

“It hasn’t happened a lot this year for us but at the same time I’m very proud of this season and the way we played.”

UND led once, 3-2 on a Mia Loyd 3-pointer, and stayed with the Aggies for the first 20 minutes. North Dakota’s strong zone defense and ability to withstand A&M’s pressure kept UND in contention.

With the game tied at 26, A&M’s Courtney Walker scored twice in the final 37 seconds of the first half.

It was the liftoff A&M used to start the second half as the Aggies turned up the defensive pressure and scored in transition.

Walker (19 points) and Tori Scott (14) did the most damage in the run as the two athletic guards were a handful for UND.

“At halftime, we said, ‘All right, we’re right in this,’ ” said UND junior Emily Evers. “But we came out a little flat to start the second half.”

UND did steady its play after A&M’s burst.

Madi Buck, playing her last game at UND, finished with a game-high 22 points.

Largely due to Buck’s persistence, UND dug itself out of a 25-point second-half deficit and cut the A&M lead to 10 late.

UND had only six turnovers in the first half, but had 10 in the second. Most came in the early stages of the second half.

“Credit them,” said Brewster. “They cranked it up and used all of their strengths to their advantage.”

Against A&M’s length and quickness, UND struggled to get good shots. As a result, UND shot only 31 percent (17-for-55). And they were outrebounded 49-36.

But a 15-point loss against a team from the Southeastern Conference and ranked No. 15 in the final women’s national poll served as some consolation for UND.

“We came into the season with this being our ultimate goal,” said Buck. “At times, it seemed like it would never get here but we’ve accomplished something that’s never been done at UND. We had nothing to lose.”

UND left Reed Arena in a pretty good mood.

“People had a lot of doubts with us coming in,” said Loyd. “I think we did surprise a lot of people, and the country does know that North Dakota is out there. We did make a name for ourselves playing against Texas A&M.”